To be blunt, Kurumi and I were living together and making it work.
Since the day I first slept over, we hadn’t fought or even had any misunderstandings. We were just living together in that old house, in total harmony. Our life outside of school felt right—it fit us like a glove.
“…It’s getting late.”
It was evening, and the silhouettes of the mountains were framed against the red light of the setting sun.
I was sitting on the porch, enjoying the evening air, listening to a far-off public safety broadcast. It was urging children to get home before dark—probably some standard broadcast specific to this area. Shortly after I moved in, I’d heard, “Good children should be at home,” and felt like it was scolding me. But after a week here, I’d gotten used to it. I’d decided I wasn’t a good kid and didn’t need to go home.
That wasn’t a thought I could have managed before meeting Kurumi.
Was that growth or decline? I felt it was a bit of both, or possibly neither. The needle hadn’t tipped one way or the other, making it impossible for me to say.
Maybe I’m just tired today. I should head inside.
“Natsume, are you free?”
Just as I lifted my legs onto the porch, Kurumi poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Yep. Got a chore for me? I already scrubbed the bath.”
“Oh, I wasn’t planning on putting you to work.”
I’d struck first and come up empty. If not help with chores, then what did she want?
While I pondered that, Kurumi came over to me.
She was light on her feet, wearing her house clothes—a skimpy T-shirt and dolphin shorts. Each step she took made her gray-and-black hair flounce.
“Eh-heh-heh. Natsume, if you’re free, let’s have some fun.”
“Hmm? Uh, sure, but…what? You in the mood for some—?”
“N-not that! Nothing sexy.”
Red-faced, she slapped my shoulder. What? I still haven’t said anything.
“Not that kind of fun! I’m talking about these, here!”
With a “ta-daa!” Kurumi pulled something out from behind her back. It was a colorful bag, like a candy variety pack.
“What do you say?” she asked. “I bought a pretty big one!”
“…Sorry, what are those?”
“Gasp! You’re kidding?! Fireworks! Isn’t it obvious?!”
She looked at me in disbelief. Sorry, I really had no idea.
My head was full of images of huge, gaudy explosions against the night sky. Wiping these from my mind, I examined the packaging again and finally grasped just what kind of fireworks Kurumi had bought. All alone for most of my life, I’d never had any experience with the handheld variety.
“I spotted them at the grocery store and snatched ’em up! Sounds like fun, right?”
“Well, sure. I’ve never tried them, so I wouldn’t know.”
“What?! Is that even possible?! I find that hard to believe.”
Was it that weird? There must have been plenty of people who had never encountered handheld fireworks.
She saw me slump and cleared her throat, refocusing. “Very well! If that’s the case, all the more reason to make up for lost time. Looks like I’ll be giving you another first time… Oh, I guess kissing makes three.”
“…Shush.”
“Aha! Made ya blush! You’re so cute.” Kurumi waggled her brows, smirking.
Perhaps I’d left myself too exposed around Kurumi… Though to be honest, I didn’t really mind.
Whatever the case, it was time to get ready for some fireworks. We hopped off the porch, moved some stuff out of the way, and got a bucket of water ready so we could douse any rogue flames. Fire was the last thing we wanted, so we also made sure the ground was damp around us.
Now we just needed something to light them with. Kurumi had brought a bucket-shaped candle, and I pressed my lighter up to it.
It was getting pretty dark out, but this little flame cast a gentle glow.
We were ready. Honestly, I was getting pretty excited, but when I glanced at Kurumi, she had a solemn look on her face.
“Doing it the regular way is awfully dull,” she said.
“…Is there another way to do it? Dual-wielding?”
She ignored my question, leaving my amateur ass behind and darting around the side of the house.
I heard her rummaging around. Then she came back, dragging a drum can behind her.
Kurumi looked something up on her phone, then started modifying the empty can, banging on it and opening holes.
I was totally lost, but in five minutes, her alterations were done, and the can had been placed in the center of the backyard.
“All finished? What’s it for?”
Lit up in the flickering candlelight, Kurumi’s grin looked especially elfin.
“A basic burn barrel. I found instructions online.”
“Oh, the kind you make a fire inside? I’ve seen those. What’s it for?”
“We’re gonna burn our summer homework! We’ll light the fireworks with that.”
…Was she serious? That was pretty irregular.
Kurumi brought a few workbooks and some newspaper from the house and shoved it all in the can. I took out my lighter, and we lit a single sheet of newspaper, then dropped it in.
“We won’t be able to turn it in after this,” I said. “What’ll you do after vacation?”
“Who cares?”
Kurumi flashed me a grin. And a moment later, the heap of homework went up in flames. Rows of math formulas turned black, melting away in the dancing flames.
“Looking good,” said Kurumi. “Now, let’s get these fireworks started!”
She pulled one out of the packet and dipped the tip in the can. It soon lit up, and there was a colorful spray of light.
“Well? C’mon, join in, Natsume! This is a sparkler!”
She was holding a stick with a red flame burning at the tip and white sparks bursting out around it. It was certainly pretty. I began to feel that lighting fireworks from our burning homework was an important ritual for the two of us. The sight had a kind of magic about it.
The sparkler soon died down. Kurumi dropped it in the bucket of water, and it hissed.
“Your turn, Natsume.”
“…Gimme a sec.”
I hopped up on the porch, then went back inside and got my homework out of my bookbag. I rolled it all up and dropped it in the can, and the fire grew even brighter.
“Own it, Natsume,” Kurumi said, with a smile like a naughty child’s or a girl’s in love. “Now go on. Don’t keep the fireworks waiting! We’ve got a bunch to get through!”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I took a sparkler from her and held it over the can. The tip of it lit up.
Kurumi and I stood side by side in the yard, burning sparklers together. The smell of the smoke tickled my nose. It felt like the stuff summer dreams were made of.
“Natsume, what should we do for our next attack?”
“Good question. I wonder. I’m sure the teachers won’t take it lying down.”
“Guess we’ve gotta think long and hard. Fortunately, we have plenty of time to scheme.”
Our fury was the real deal. We were going to change Saigou High, and we couldn’t let Nanaougi get in our way.
Keeping our eyes on the flames, we spoke of nothing else.